Did Obama bow before the Saudi king?

Upon returning home from his 8-day tour of Europe and the Middle East, President Barack Obama has been greeted with some pretty harsh criticism over photographs and video footage which show him bowing to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia during the G20 Summit.

While the White House has denied the bow and the mainstream media has largely ignored the political gaffe, it has not gone completely unnoticed.

The Washington Times called the bow a “shocking display of fealty to a foreign potentate”, which runs contrary to a long-held American tradition of not deferring to royalty. “By bending over to show greater respect to Islam, the US president belittled the power and independence of the United States. Such an act is a traditional obeisance befitting a king’s subjects, not his peer. There is no precedent for US presidents bowing to Saudi or any other royals,” The Times continued.

The Weekly Standard reiterated the tradition, stating: “American presidents do not bow before foreign dignitaries, whether they are princes, kings, or emperors.”

The White House has denied that President Obama bowed to the King. One Obama aide spoke anonymously to Politico.com, stating: “It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah.”

The Saudis themselves believe it to have been a bow. Muhammah Diyab, a commentator for a Saudi paper, approved of Obama’s gesture and says that he saw it as a clear blow:

“Obama wished to demonstrate his respect and appreciation of the personality of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who has made one of the most important calls in the modern era, namely the call for interfaith and intercultural dialogue to defuse the hatred, conflict and wars”.

So, was it a bow? if it was, is it really that big a deal? an uproar over a show of respect?



Thoughts?